Media presentations (e.g., movies, television programs, slideshows, etc.) can contain a wealth of information, including images of actors, audio sound tracks, images of clothing and other goods. Information about the things seen and heard in a media presentation is not always discernable from the media presentation itself as it is playing. For example, the name of a particular song playing at a specific time in a movie may not be readily determined at the time it plays in the movie. Some viewers of a media presentation may want to have immediate access to more information about whatever images or sounds are playing in the media presentation at a given time.
In the existing art, there is no simple way to automatically link an external device to information about a particular part of a media presentation. Currently, some general information about a movie can be tracked down via a web search, but the specific products displayed and sound track songs played at particular times in the movie can rarely be found easily. For example, movies that list soundtrack songs in their end credits do not provide the specific times that these songs were played. Therefore, even if the songs are listed in order of appearance in the movie, one would have to rewatch the movie from the beginning to identify the songs that preceded the desired song. Furthermore, TV programs have limited time for end credits and often entirely omit any listing of sound track songs. Some systems provide locations to find information in media presentations, but these must be included before the media presentation leaves the control of the producer of the media presentation.
The producers of shows (e.g., movies, television shows, webisodes, straight to digital storage medium productions, online videos, etc.) often want to provide information to their viewers about items within the shows. Currently, such producers place advertisements of products within the context of the show itself. Such advertisements are called “product placements”. These product placements are used as an alternative to separate commercial breaks. For television, and other media with commercial interruptions, product placements elude the commercial skipping and fast-forwarding features of recording devices such as digital video recorders, VCRs and DVD recorders.
When product placement is done well, such placements can enhance the viewer's experience. For example, when the script calls for a character to drink a canned beverage, the character may drink a beverage from a can with a distinct, recognizable color scheme or logo. Similarly, if a movie hero has to be thrown into an electronic billboard, it might as well be a billboard of a well known company that is sponsoring the movie. By using a product that the viewer would naturally expect to see in that situation rather than a product with a made up logo or a generic label such as “soda”, the audience's suspension of disbelief becomes easier and the show becomes more enjoyable.
In contrast, the producers of shows can highlight products in an obtrusive manner. For example, a show could have a jarring non sequitur in which a character within the show suddenly praises the product in a manner that seems unnatural to the character or the situation. A direct mention of the product is the only effective means of product placement for products that are not readily identifiable while in use.
Accordingly, product placement for goods and services whose origin is not obvious from the image of the product itself creates a dilemma for the producers. They must interrupt the flow of the show to identify the goods sufficiently for an audience member to find and purchase the product. This can destroy the suspension of disbelief and make the show less enjoyable for audience members that are not interested in the product. A less enjoyable show can lead to lower sales of the show, lower ratings, etc. Furthermore, an overly obtrusive product placement can have the opposite of the intended effect. A viewer might resent the product for “ruining” the show and be less likely to purchase it than he was before. Similarly, some media producers have tried to overcome this problem by adding pop-up ads as overlays on some media presentations. The outcome, however, has not been very successful. The reason is that the pop-up ads can become so obtrusive and distractive that they render a reversed result and the viewer decides to boycott the product instead of showing interest in it.
As for the viewer who wishes to purchase a product placed in a show, he might not be able to get the product. The viewer would first have to identify the item, and then track down a seller of that item in order to purchase it. In the meantime, he would not know the price range of the item. For example, a viewer might admire the curtains in a scene, but assume that they would cost too much to be worth buying. Such a viewer would not bother to track them down and would never realize that the same curtains could be purchased for a price that he could afford.
The media producer may also want to provide non-product related information to interested viewers, such as storyboards of the media presentation or more information on the topic of the media presentation. Accordingly, there is a need for a better way to find content that relates to content shown at specific times in a media presentation.